I've been writing about copy protection and other software IP issues recently. Here's another story about enforcement, specifically what the Business Software Alliance (BSA) is doing in North America.
From the Shanghai Daily:
An Associated Press analysis reveals that targeting small businesses is lucrative for the Business Software Alliance, the main copyright enforcement watchdog for such companies as Microsoft Corp, Adobe Systems Inc and Symantec Corp.
Of the US$13 million that the BSA reaped in software violation settlements with North American companies last year, almost 90 percent came from small businesses, the AP found.
The BSA has been quite active in China, working with the government in particular to ensure that PCs purchased for use at government facilities come pre-installed with licensed software. They are now working with PC manufacturers to expand on this success.
Now we know how they are funding these projects. The question that the article dances around is whether this targeting of small businesses is "fair" or not. I am sympathetic to the plight of small businesses, who are often faced with significant licensing fees for niche applications and special problems related to copy protection.
That being said, if the company is knowingly running unlicensed applications, they are probably not going to receive a great deal of sympathy from the public. The RIAA has run into PR trouble by suing teenagers for downloading MP3s. A teenager is generally a sympathetic party. Companies are not.
Past fun on this topic: